Age of Inheritance
by Errmagerrd101
Summary: Those who always want will never find peace, even if all they want is peace. AU Minato with ambitions and courage as well as non-canon sekirei. Possibility of lemons later on. Chapter three is up! Please review!
1. Chapter 1 - Perfect life

I own nothing in the sekirei universe.

FFNet didn't seem to want to save my formatting the first time I uploaded this. Sorry to all those that were put off by the wall of text

"regular speech"

_"thoughts"_

**-[Story Start]-**

"Sooo… you're seriously not going through with it?"

"Mom, why do we need to go through this every time we talk?!"

"Minato that's not fair, you know I just want the best for you."

"I know mom… but I had enough time abroad to figure out school isn't for me. Besides, I've got a stable job that's going good for me, which I enjoy, and I don't want to screw it up."

"… fine…. I don't see why you're so worried about money, it's not like I wouldn't just give you what you need to get by."

"Yea well unlike Yukari I'd like to earn my money"

"Oh son, you've got so much potential… I just wish you'd consider it…"

"Good bye mother." With a click the line went dead "sheesh, it's getting to be every other day now…" Minato looked down to his watch; the time read 7:48AM _"crap, I should've been out the door 10 minutes ago. Now I'm gonna be late!"_

* * *

The run, which felt more like a sprint, to work was unpleasant; holding a spilling coffee and crumbling biscuit in one hand and his cell phone in the other attempting to text "stop calling me in the morning" to his mother. She never read them, Minato wasn't even sure she fully knew how texting worked yet, but there was always hope.

As he rounded the corner he saw his destination, coworkers waiting for him impatiently.

"Hello "mister" Sahashi! Too much foot traffic?" A short stocky man by the name of Arata Hokaido yelled with a snort. Hokaido was the office troll, moreover he was Minato's long-time friend in the company, and had been working there only slightly longer than himself. The diminutive middle-aged man made a habit of harassing him daily, he was joking of course, mostly.

"ahaha Hokaido-san, yes I had a bit of a personal matter this morning, sorry to keep you all waiting." Rubbing the back of his head had always been a nervous twitch of his; getting real world experience hadn't changed that. In all Minato had five people under his supervision, three of which were here currently, with two others working the evenings with him. His other two subordinates stood to the side; the first being Goro Ibaraki, which leaned against the metal sheet protecting the door from attempted break-ins, and Chizu Yamagata who leaned against the smooth stone brickwork staring off into space.

Minato fumbled with his left hand for a moment, stuffing his phone away while clumsily pulling out his keys, after which Goro was pushed aside, it wasn't something Minato liked to do, but when the man simply doesn't want to move you either back down or you move him yourself. Minato had learned this within the first few weeks of work. Goro had an attitude, but respected attitude in turn, so usually they got along fine so long as Minato remembered to give him a shove if he decided he didn't want to listen.

"Mornin' Sahashi-san" mumbled the lanky punk as he took a slow step back. Minato always considered himself tall, but this guy made globe trotters seem more like toddlers.

"There we go! You three get to work, I just need a second" with the lock tossed to Hokaido for storage and the doors opened they all proceeded. Minato rushed to his office in the corner of the shipping area in the back. After having downed his coffee and devoured the last few crumbs of breakfast treat still remaining in his hand he proceeded to the bathroom to clean up.

* * *

_"It's alright Sahashi; deep breath buddy..."_ In and out. His reflection stared back in the bathroom mirror as he inspected his appearance. His hair was spiked and sculpted the way he preferred, with a fair, clean shaven face. His leather shoes held a mirror like shine that he was particularly proud of, even with the dust along the sides from running. His black slacks and button up shirt were ironed to perfection, with a leather belt adorned with a gold-bronze buckle lashed around his waist. Golden collar dogs were pinned to his shirt, along with a name tag. Manager : Sahashi Minato.

He smiled to himself as he retreated to his office to get to work, he had just been promoted to manager of receiving yesterday, and while it wasn't the greatest thing in the world it was still HIS accomplishment. He knew how the job worked, the manager before him had trained him off and on for the last few months to take over the job. The company he worked for specialized in shipping, the large building held three sections; the upstairs was offices, with anywhere from a dozen to thirty people working in them at any given time, while the downstairs was shipping/receiving area and the front counter where orders and packages were processed by his three subordinates. The company went by the name "Uniformico – a uniform vision of service". Sure the name was dinky, but the company had been fairly good to him in the last year and a half. Minato snickered to himself, barely 20 and he was already in charge. His mother never thought he'd applied himself to anything worthwhile. Yet here he was, top of the food chain, respected, no financial worries and possessing worldly knowledge. He had everything he needed as far as he was concerned.

His day went by with a smile spread across his face, but as packages came and went, and files passed through his office his smile slowly faded. Something seemed off, nothing was wrong, it just felt like a weird, awkward day. Like something was missing.

* * *

4:30 rolled around, and Minato decided to take one of his common walk and talks; strolling through the offices, loading areas and front end and chatting up his fellow employees, Hokaido manned the counter, collecting information from a man to label a box he was sending out, that was by far the most tedious part of the job. So he continued on, not wanting to get caught in the depravity that was his former position of box handler, instead finding Chizu in the employees lounge. Alone. She was rummaging through her locker; it was the end of her day, soon to be replaced by an evening worker. Minato cocked his head, eyeing her up and down, realizing she hadn't heard his clacking footsteps as he entered the room. Her blonde hair hung down in a medium length curtain, with a white shirt, beige khakis and high heels. She was certainly attractive, but nowhere near appealing. To put it bluntly she was slow, absent-minded and overly religious. The only reason she was hired was because Minato had put in a good word for her with the previous boss, at the request of his little sister of course. They were school mates, and she desperately needed a job.

"Heading out Yamagata-san?" the young woman squeaked and hit her head on the ceiling of the locker in shock. Minato's eyes rolled as he remained in the doorway. He wanted to find a reason to let her go, but as annoying as she was she wasn't a bad employee.

"Ow ow ow" the blonde whimpered as she pulled free from the metal confines with her jacket, rubbing a bump on her head "Yes sir, finished those shipping receipts like you said yesterday. Already clocked out and everything"

"hmm… ok, good job" Minato feigned a smile as he stepped aside, ignoring the irritating woman. He had more important things to worry about right now, like his parched throat.

With a coke in one hand and his cellphone in the other Minato collapsed into one of the leather chairs.

"Sure is good to be the boss!" Minato exclaimed with a sigh as he stretched. He felt Tired, which was strange; he slept a healthy amount the night before. The young manager's lethargy grew as he sipped his soft drink and clicked through his phone, somewhere while reading a text from his sister he started to nod off, his body going limp in its seat.

* * *

A spotlight in the dark came on above him. Figures stood all around like shades; watching, waiting.

"Hello?" his own voice came out hoarse. A handful of the silhouettes took a few paces forward in response.

**"YOU KNOW NOT OF WHAT YOU ARE!"** boomed a voice in Minato's ear.

"Hello?! Who are you?! Where am I?!" the spotlight expanded, reaching out to either side, like wings.

**"WHO ARE YOU THAT KNOWS NOT OF WHAT YOU POSSES!"** the light was the source of the voice, but hard as he tried Minato couldn't keep his eyes on the intense light. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a smaller number of the shadows step forward.

**"JUST AS THOSE BEFORE, AND ALONG SIDE, YOU ARE PREDISPOSED TO US. THE AGE OF INHERITANCE IS AT HAND. I, AM YOUR BIRTHRIGHT."**

One figure stepped forward; it was within arm's reach now, but still pitch black. A panting emitted from the figure and Minato didn't know whether to demand answers again or back away. Not that there was anywhere to back up to. He was surrounded.

"Whats all this about? Who are you?!" the blazing light dimmed to a faint spotlight.

The figure in front of him stopped panting momentarily to lean forward clutching their chest. A warbling groan resonated from the apparition before him, and slowly turned into the sound of laughter. The confused young man suddenly felt a chill down his legs, like liquid running down them. Liquid was running down his leg. Had he pissed himself? Why was it cold?

"Wait a minute!"

* * *

Minato's eyes shot open; in his stupor his soda had spilled its icy contents all over his slacks and into his shoes. More importantly someone was there. Someone was laughing at him. A GIRL was laughing at HIM!

"Who the fuck are!..." agitated and soaked Minato shot from his chair towards the window, but saw only a crop of blonde hair before he could reach it. Outside the ground floor window of the employees lounge was long empty alleyways in either directions. Far too long a stretch for someone to run away unless you were dealing with the Asian Usain Bolt. No one was below the window sill and there was no sign of the ladders on the apartment fire escapes next door being tampered with.

"Hey Sahashi!" shouted Arata, causing Minato to crack his head on the top of the window sill.

"oh uh… hey Hokaido-san… whats up?" he responded back as he returned his attention to the alley.

"night guy is here, so I'm out. Something wrong?" the dwarf waddled to stand next to Minato and join him looking out the window. "err… looking for something?"

"hmm?..." thoughts weren't forming correctly. He saw blonde hair sticking up over the window ledge, could it have been Chizu? He absent mindedly checked his watch, noting the darker tones of the sky _"How is it almost 8PM already?!"_ it couldn't have been Chizu, she should have left hours ago. "Um… no… just… getting some fresh air…"

Minato's stout friend shrugged, and proceeded to gather his belongings to leave. Minato left for his office, but shot a look over his shoulder as he left the lounge.


	2. Chapter 2 - Perfect Day

I own nothing in the sekirei universe.

I'm hoping once I get into writing chapters at regular intervals they will be at LEAST this length, but ideally longer.

"regular speech"

_"thoughts"_

**[STORY START]**

10 days later….

A blaring nuisance awoke Minato from another fitful night. Casting a glance at his alarm he groaned in frustration _"waking up every other hour and its already 6…"_ In a last defiant attempt at getting any kind of rest he rolled over and pulled the covers over his head while slamming a fist down on the noisy alarm. _"I just need another half hour of sleep…. Just... another half…" _Minato's tired mind retreated once again to the darkness with the spotlight, where that damn woman laughed at him day and night, except now she had been joined by a few other entities that stood by her just out of his reach. The strangest thing was the noises they made, while the original miscreant continued to giggle the others were doing anything from panting like lust driven animals to shrieking in pain. One even sobbed uncontrollably from time to time. The other night one of the closer standing creatures disappeared, he was glad one of his torturers was gone, yet his conscience made him feel ashamed. As if there was some way hee could have helped, but chose not to.

The mocking tormentor stopped her laughter, inching forward and only stopping to lean towards him until they were face to face. Her features were blacked out; even under the spotlight she was darkened as if a can of paint was dumped on her. The shadows across her face twisted into a smile, and her mouth opened to speak.

"Hey Sahashi! Wake up!"

* * *

"Sahashi get up! What, you got a girl in there or something?!" the door to his apartment bulged in as heavy fists pounded on it.

"_what the fu… Holy shit!" _The time on his clock read 9:21, over an hour late, over an hour that his subordinates were locked out. Minato rocketed out of bed, ripping open his closet and pulling on whatever was the easiest to slip on. _"shit shit shit shit shit!"_

"Hold on Hokaido-san!" Minato yelled hoarsely as he raced down the hall on one leg while attempting to jam the other foot into a sneaker "I'm almost there Hokaido-san!" his watch read 9:30 as he ripped the front door open while fumbling with a set of keys. There his coworker was, staring up at him. Furious.

Arata looked about ready to chew him out, but after looking at the state of his supervisor he simply rubbed his temples and turned away, clearly not in the mood to argue "C'mon, the others are waiting…" grumbled the stocky man. As they made their way to work the fearsome dwarf whispered under his breath about "reaching levels of incompetence"

The walk in silence was nerve racking, he had never been good with criticism, and, as he now found, was less patient with criticism from those below him. It didn't help when he thought he saw something out of the corner of his eye. Actually it seemed more like every other time he turned his attention away from the ground he caught a glimpse of something else moving just out of his line of sight. As if a pack of animals was watching him, retreating when they thought he had spotted them only to resume their observation when his eyes cast down to his moving feet once again.

The duo saw no one as they approached the Uniformico package deposits entrance and the doors were still locked, aside from this was the obvious fact that the package deposit slot had been stuffed, and a small stack of cardboard boxes sat against the wall. This was definitely going on his performance review.

"Looks like the others got tired of waiting, I don't blame them. Did you at least bring the key?" The shorter mans tone bit at him. No one knew how much he wanted to rip the man a new one for being on his case so much lately. It wasn't helping his situation.

"Oh yes, yes I do!" exclaimed the young manager in response. Luckily he had remembered the key, and although it was difficult to find among the keys to every other part of his life he still had it.

"Good, don't let this happen again. I'm going to go call the others back and try to get ahold of all the people that were supposed to pick up packages this morning."

"Yea good work ethic, I'll get right to work too haha… ha…" His nails dug into the back of his scalp, this was getting annoying, and his sleep was consistently being disturbed by these nightmares. The lack of sleep had resulted in many late days opening shop. His deteriorating state of sanity wasn't what worried him; it was his job performance, he had just been promoted to manager and was being scrutinized. Hokaido was covering for him, sometimes, but his inability to keep up with his administrative duties along with his questionable attendance was losing business and would soon be noticed.

Trying to fully wake himself up was a losing battle, neither icy cold nor burning hot water had the desired effect of shocking him to his senses, and as he continued to try either smothering or slapping himself awake he spied a look at himself in the mirror. There he was, in a red sweatshirt, jeans and untied addidas. His face wasn't much better, he hadn't been able to shave the last few days and his hair was just as unkempt due to his new habit of oversleeping, dark bags completed his look of "Failure of the month". He couldn't even think of the last time he had brushed his teeth. All together he looked more like he should be a burger flipper than a pencil pusher and he decided he would stay banished to his office for the day. His office. The locked office.

"Oh for fucks sakes!" In his excitement of being promoted he hadn't latched his office key on with the rest of his keys and opted to simply pocket it, so this morning he had forgotten to grab it as he rushed out the door. He smashed his head on the wall, he was about ready to rip his own hair out, why was he making so many mistakes all of the sudden? He felt like such a loser, like he used to in middle school.

"Gotta calm down.. calm down and just take a breather... still plenty of time, after all its only-" The time display on his phone read 10:11.

_"Fuuuuuuckkkk!"_

* * *

Those coming into and out of the building saw only a red streak as Minato burst out the doors and bolted down the street to his apartment. The streets were crowded, as they usually were, and he had no concern for those that were in his way, he was at least two hours late to get started on any actual work and he didn't have time to stop or wait around for people to move. He was sure his prayers had been answered when people began to disperse in a wide formation in front of him.

"Gravity hammer!" there wasn't even enough time to see what all the commotion was about. He was unconscious before he hit the ground.

* * *

Why did all this have to happen to him? here he was, in the darkness again, late for work and surrounded by the PMS parade. But now there were two of them leaning in his face. _"Wonderful..."_

"Look can we just wrap this up? I'm really in the middle of something and whatever is happening is really hindering my ability to do my job!" The only sound was of the second figuring breathing on him rather loudly. "Personal space please!" he said as he tried to push the figure away roughly, but was met with what could only be described as a moan "what the... the fucks wrong with you, get away from me! Let me out of this place, I have a life and a job and whatever you are you're fucking it all up!" All the built up frustration of the last week, no, all the angst and anger of his whole life could be felt as he screamed in the womans face. Tears rolled down his face, he was finally going somewhere, finally doing something with himself and its suddenly snatched away from him by some figment of his imagination.

"Ashikabi-sama, are you ok?!" the new silhouette asked worriedly, he was taken aback by this.

"Ok? ok? I was just fucking fine until whatever the fuck YOU are came along! I don't even know whats going on right now! I could be drugged or dead for all I know!" With that he crossed his arms and turned his back to the two, only to find a third person standing just as close. "I can't even fume and storm off in here, where am I?!"

"please ashikabi-sama, please wake up, please don't die! I didn't even get a chance to... I need you!" Who did she think she was, coming along and fucking up his life because she "needed him" and for that matter why did she care all of a sudden, it certainly took her long enough to speak up.

"And what if I want to die now?! If I'm going to be haunted the rest of my life than what point is there in even trying!" He could tell the woman was shivering, and crying. What was the big deal here? why couldn't somebody just explain what was going on?

The spotlight burst above him, boring down on him like a giant blowtorch, he vaguely felt sensations across his face. Then the darkness was gone. It shattered off of ever surface like glass, cracking around his feed and disintegrating as it spread out around him.

**"YOUR PREDISPOSITION HAS BEEN REALIZED. REFERENCING DATA INDEX... BROADCASTING... RESPONSE CONFIRMED FROM SIX OUT OF EIGHT, UNKNOWN ADDITIONAL RESPONSE DETECTED... ORDERS TO INITIALIZE REBIRTH PROCEDURES SENT... RESPONSE RECEIVED... VALIDATED."**

"What?!.." the third woman in front of him was clear as the shadows fragmented from her skin. She was curvaceous, wrapped in a white kimono that left her chest open. Chains ran around her neck and between her breasts. Her slender face was framed with beige hair, and sullen brown eyes stared blankly into him.

"An-... and whats your problem? huh!" the sensations across his face continued, like smooth hands gently caressing him. He jerked away, whatever this nightmare of his was selling he wasn't buying.

"Please be still ashikabi-sama, its the only way" the voice of the previous woman made him turn around, the other figures around him were becoming visible, one by one. He only caught a glimpse of the second of the two apparitions behind him before he was blinded, and felt suddenly smothered.

Minato flailed his arms helplessly, he couldn't breath, something was suffocating him and he couldn't fight it off. Unable to save himself on his own his instincts took over causing him to try to scream for help. Nothing could be done, he was hallucinating and was being strangled by some THING that he couldn't even struggle to get away from. The light was blinding him, even with his eyes shut tight it burned his corneas straight through to his brain. He felt so uncomfortably warm, he was burning to death and suffocating, there was no worse way to die than this, being absolutely alone and afraid, not knowing when death would finally release him.

Then it stopped. His breath returned in sharp gasps and he suddenly felt the chill of the wind again. Was he dead? Was it over? He could faintly hear screaming and other unfamiliar noises in the foreground. Minato felt heavy and sluggish, and struggled to open his eyes.

* * *

Willing himself back to the world of the living was no easy task, but he did it, he was slowly pulling himself up. The first thing he noticed was where he was, he had somehow ended up in the middle of the street. A block away from where he remembered being what seemed like moments ago. Empty cars littered the road along with a few burning and broken ones and the second thing that hit him was the pain in his head and a warm trickle of liquid down his face. Wiping the liquid from his drowsy eyes he confirmed it, he was bleeding.

"What the hell happened..." Most of the street was empty by now, but there were still a few people screaming and running for cover. From what he had no idea, although judging by the bangs and crashes coming from back towards his office he was sure he didn't want to find out. He felt conflicted as he stood up to get his bearings, should he call the police maybe? No, lots of people would already be doing that. It was clearly too dangerous to head back to his building to clear people out so...

A scream broke Minato's train of thought just before a burning car went sailing across the street from the corner to slam into another building. Something was climbing out of the wreckage and he didn't want anything to do with it. His decision was set in stone; run the other direction and get back to the safety of his apartment.

"Ashik-!" A second car crashed on top of the first one. Definitely time to leave.

He wasn't sticking around long enough to see who or WHAT was being thrown around. The small pile of cars was being pried apart and the engine block from the top car was tossed back in the direction it came from leaving a trail of smoke and sparks. Ahead he could see a police road block and ran straight for it, police cars had been put out in a staggered line barricading the street, with law enforcement agents in SWAT gear standing behind a further set of wooden dividers to keep people from wandering in. Still people peered over the defenses to gawk at the carved up concrete, fires and the few remaining people fleeing to safety, himself included.

An explosion ripping apart a burning car was encouragement enough for Minato to not want to stick around, even when an officer came to check his head injury. The officer and his subordinates resisted Minato, trying to get him to stay and wait for paramedics to arrive to treat the injured but he had to get away from here, nothing was keeping him here with whatever was past the perimeter. Pushing through the dozen or more officers and the dense crowd was the easy part, but when he gave one last look over his shoulder he froze. Something was pulling him back, not physically, not even any kind of recognizable attachment, he just felt like something was trying to draw him back into the area. A serious conflict was going on in his mind, should he run and retain some semblance of sanity or try to make a difference here where he hadn't been able to with the other shadow that disappeared from his dreams.

There was nothing down the street now, no flying cars or screams or new gashes in the earth. People had started to disperse, ambulances had arrived to treat people and the fire department could be heard coming down the other side of the block. Even so, even if it wasn't dangerous to go back he didn't want to. His life was complicated enough already. _"For that matter why do I even care whats going on down there, I just got knocked around and I'm covered in blood, I'm lucky I didn't wake up in a hospital!" _

Hesitation flickered in his eyes, but he made his choice. he wanted his life back. he was adamant, he was done with this; it was time to take a few days off work and get his life back on track. The first thing he needed to do was get away from this place before whatever had caused all the commotion came back.

"Ashikabi-sama! where did you run off to?" too late. Murmurs in the crowd transitioned to worried tones and even further into screams as people tried to move back from the police roadblock, and to everybodies shock a woman rocketed into the air from the opposite end of the defenses and landed crouched on the roof of an ambulance. The stunned citizens that cluttered the street stared at the strange woman; she wore a simple purple, sleeveless sweater-top that exposed her stomach to the air and long finglerless, knuckleless gloves of the same colour that went past her elbow where they were met with some kind of arm band covered in pouches. Around her waist was a purple sash over a black pair of spandex shorts and black sandal-boots that went to her mid calf. To complete her look was short black, wavy hair that contrasted with her slim pale body. "Please ashikabi-sama we need to get away from here, where are you?" It was obvious from the torn and burnt spots on her clothes as well as the many cuts and bruises that she had been at the center of whatever had been going on mere moments ago.

"I have to get the fuck out of here before-" Minato froze as an impact sounded behind him followed by a gentle hand squeezing his shoulder.

"Ah there you are, I was worried for a moment. I think we should get out of here before they come back... ahikabi-sama? is something wrong?"

All he could do was stand there in shock. This strange woman that looked like she just clambered out of a burning building bounded over a crowded police roadblock with ease and proceeded to start trying to chat him up. He could feel the eyes of the nearby bystanders burning into the back of his head and it was making him light headed. Looking to his watch was the last straw, it was broken, but the hands had stopped at 11:40. He was becoming delirious from his head wound, being followed by a member of the PMS parade and most likely losing his job soon. It was like his own personal hell had been made right there just for him.

"Ashikabi-sama?..." the woman asked in concern but was unheard by her new master as he fell to the ground unconscious for the second time.

**[END]**

So how does everybody like what I've got so far? I could use some beta readers because as of right now I'm just doing this on my own. Any suggestions? comments, queries or concerns? Did this chapter feel rushed? Maybe too long? maybe my writing style needs to be refined. Let me know.

Just a warning this story isn't going to be conventional; there will be dire losses and Minato won't be chasing the "usual" goal that every other fanfiction has him pursuing. We control our actions, and in time our actions shape who we are.


	3. Chapter 3 - Perfect Anomaly

Sorry this took so long, I've been away from my computer for quite a while.

I always think that a healthy story on FF is one that has at least double the amount of reviews as the number of chapters it contains. That being said I've met my goal, but when I see the reviews I've gotten compared to the number of views and faves I think I've done something wrong to deserve such little feedback. So my goal with this is to give you (the viewer) something to talk about :)

**STORY STARTS**

* * *

"Minato-san? Ah Minato-san I'm afraid we can't get on with this without your cooperation… WAKE UP!"

Waking from unconsciousness for the second time today Minato looked around in irritation for the source of the annoying voice, in the distance he could see a glowing crescent moon rising above the many sky scrapers of Shinto Teito. The vantage point didn't quite look right, like he was much higher up than he should be. He rushed over to a nearby ledge and took in a sharp intake of breath as his heart almost stopped from the sight below him. It wasn't just that he seemed to be much too high up but he was actually ON one of the very sky scrapers that dotted the skyline of Tokyo. It took his breath away to see the city from such a height; it was breathtaking, almost serene. The look of the city combined with the cool night air gave him a sense of contentment, one that he hadn't felt in quite a while. The question dawned on him though, how did he get up here in the first place?

"Ashikabi-sama!" The loud familiar voice behind him almost caused him an untimely death by slipping over the edge. He turned around to see the battered form of the strange woman from earlier a few paces away holding his cellphone in his face. On his phone was the face of a hysterically happy looking man dressed in all white, with a high flipped up collar, wild white hair and thick glasses. He took the phone and nodded in confusion, and was caught off guard how her face seemed to light up at his acknowledgment of her. If the situation wasn't so strange he'd think she was cute, even in her battle damaged condition.

"Uh… thanks… so who are you supposed to b-" he was interrupted by the annoying voice from a moment ago and yet again came close to slipping over the edge of the building, he needed to get over to the center where it was safe before he fell to his death. That damnable voice seemed to be coming from his phone.

"Well I was getting to that my boy; it seems your profile was spot on, impatient and ignorant." Ok enough was enough, now his phone was talking smack to him, he was definitely going insane. No "if"s, "and"s or "but"s. The voice continued, with the volume on his phone increasing on its own.

"As I was saying Minato-san, your cooperation is of the utmost importance, as without it you tempt fate to remove you from the game!" the man on the screen waved his arms theatrically, how was this even possible, he had no plan for video chat on his phone nor was it even equipped with a camera to do so. The man seemed oddly familiar though.

"Game?.. Wait a minute you're-!" once again being interrupted.

"Minaka Hiroto, President and Founder of Mid-Bio Informatics? Yes, I'm glad someone recognizes me for once!" the look of triumph that spread across the man's face was without compare. Here he was, talking to the man that built a worldwide empire that took the lead in most industries in just a few years of operation. "MBI" as it was often referred to as, owned most everything in the city, and much of the country. This included Uniformico, making this man his boss at the very top of the ladder.

"Ah Hiroto-san, how may I help you today, I wasn't expecting an interview from the big boss" his nails dug into the back of his head as his nervous twitch once again surfaced, what a time for an evaluation.

"Please Minato-san, no formalities, I'm not talking to you as a member of corporate, but as the Master of this exclusive and prestigious challenge you have now been inducted into." Once again the triumphant smile spread across his face from ear to ear. "I am here today to speak to you about the young woman that stands before you, and what she and you now mean going forward together."

"_Together?..." _what could that mean? He glanced to the woman that stood a little too close for comfort who beamed brightly at him.

"Would you do the honours my dear?"

"_My dear?..."_ public displays of affection such as intimate titles and pet names were one of the things he disliked, it always reminded him of the many hard study nights alone in America.

When prompted the woman pivoted on her toeless boots so her left side was facing him, she jacked her arm up in a similar way to a bicep curl and displayed a tattoo of the number seventy-two just below her left shoulder.

"I, Sekirei seventy-two, Natsu pledge my loyalty to you now and forever my Ashikabi-sama!" Natsu held herself proudly despite her injuries to display herself to her new master; having introduced herself she pivoted again before crouching and leaning away from him to display a mark on the back of her neck. Bruises and scrapes covered her exposed mid-section and the back of her collar had been ripped off. Beneath the shredded fabric was the sigil of a bird perched above a yin-yang symbol framed with scare quotes. The crazed bespectacled man on Minato's phone cleared his throat to draw his attention.

"This, my new recruit, is a member of an alien race we call Sekirei. Their race is remarkably similar to us humans, excluding a few key differences of course. They are stranded here and are participants in the most grand of tournaments as they search for their eternal partner. This tournament is called the Sekirei Plan. And you are now a participant as well!"

Minato just stood slack jawed _"aliens?... really?" _this had to be a joke.

"Furthermore, you have been chosen as no.72's partner, by winging her you have claimed her as your property, lover, friend, slave, or whatever other term you wish to brand her with. Now then let's go over the rules!" the volume had increased yet again, and the purple clad woman had regained her position standing in front of Minato, smiling and leaning over to listen to Minaka's speech as she smoothed out her sash. Minato wasn't having any of this however, and pushed her back as much as her superior strength would allow.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait, hold up… So you're telling me she's part of some extraterrestrial race that nobody but a select few knows about, and they're having some kind of a cosmic beach party here in Tokyo?..." if one word could be used to describe how he felt, dumbstruck would be it.

"Indeed! Now as I was saying, the first rule is-"

"and, I've been chosen to carry some kind of ball n' chain for who knows how long?" his last words were complimented by a glare that he shot to his new servant who looked away somewhat ashamed.

"Well kind of, but that's not important right now! The fact is yo-" the self-proclaimed game masters tone changed in irritation, he had a busy schedule and he could tell this enterprising young lad would be difficult to convince. He dreaded having another debate about the legitimacy of aliens or the game itself after the last five calls he made that day. Minaka began typing on his keyboard just in case this man proved to be a headache.

"AND, let me guess, there's going to be some foolish battle royal to determine the "fate of the world" or some nonsense? Look, Hiroto-san this isn't a very professional way to check if your employees are stable under pressure, can you please call off this joke so I can continue on with my life?" Minato rubbed the bridge of his nose, and noticed the dejected look on the face of the young woman that had just introduced herself to him. "Look, miss, I'm sorry if I've offended you bu-"

Minaka sighed heavily, and pressed the enter button on his keyboard as he reached for his coffee.

A flash lit up the night sky, followed by a streak of red light and an explosion off in the distance, as the darkness swept in again there were two more flashes and yet again the ground exploded off in the distance two more times as lasers imploded concrete and metal. Minato and Natsu both looked off towards the source of the disaster and saw smoke and flaming debris rising from the scrap metal recycling plant on the other side of the city. Within moments sirens blared and dissipated as firefighters and first responders sped towards the expanding blaze.

"That was one of my many orbital bombardment platforms. Now then, Sahashi Minato, listen closely. YOU are a part of the greatest tribute to humanity that the world will ever see, this is our ascendancy, and could be YOUR ascendancy. The Sekirei will fight alongside their Ashikabi until there is but one Ashikabi remaining. How you get to be the victor is up to you, but there are a few rules, here are some important guidelines to start with. Keep your Sekirei from hurting too many civilians or attacking Ashikabi, wing as many of these little birds as you want but do NOT leave the city, and do NOT share this information with anyone! If you haven't been convinced by MBI's show of force than you really are ignorant. Your beginners pack should be arriving outside your door as we speak, so I suggest you start trying to figure out a way down." The once charismatic, if a bit manic, cheesy grin that once adorned the face of the man that controlled Minato's career had disappeared, replaced by an intense glare of malice and frustration. His face was wrinkled in anger; clearly he wasn't having a very good day either.

"… But… How?!" He was wrong before, now he was dumbstruck.

He had heard the rumours about MBI's shady activities before, and even seen news reports about legal documents connecting the global conglomerate to a few less-than-legal para-military organisations and international scandals. But to be shown proof it may well be true, by the man in charge of it all himself! This was too much, in less than half a month his life had become several hundred times more complicated.

"Whats the point of all this? Why are you doing this and… and… and…. more importantly why should I care?!" He yelled into his phone, his Sekirei had jumped in surprise and shrank down in fear of her master's rage. A main contributing factor to his decreasing mental state during this moment was the realization that MBI had a gun pointed at the head of the world. _"Why does a pharmaceutical company need a space laser?!"_

Minaka was about to hang up, he was tired and there was still at least four other people he had to call to congratulate. But the words of this whelp struck a nerve; a vein in his forehead bulged and he had to stop himself from targeting the building this defiant punk stood on with the orbital platform. Instead he regained his composure, and declared in a calm voice "The prize is the fate of millions, the vast, untapped wealth of technology that these little birds have brought us and the opportunity to reshape humanity as we know it. But only if you can win."

"Oh…" well that derailed his train of thought. It made sense; they had come on a ship of some kind, so logically it still existed in some form. Whether that be as it was when it came to Earth or in pieces remained to be seen. Minato's anger welled up again and he pointed to the tag-along he had called a "Sekirei", but he hadn't noticed his phone go quiet. "So what am I supposed to do with her? Where is she going and what do I have to do now?... Hello?... hello?!... fuck!" Minato stomped past the woman in anger so as to not trip off the building, he fell to his knees and punched the ground with an audible crunch.

In the massive Teito tower Minaka leaned back in his seat, rubbing his temples before reaching for his keyboard to contact the next participant.

"A-Ashikabi-sama?..." Minato cursed under his breath in anger and regained his footing to throw his phone off into the Tokyo skyline, he sincerely hoped it hit someone when it reached the ground. He took a moment to let his anger radiate away from him, he wouldn't be getting anywhere having a tantrum. His Sekirei remained by the edge, fearful. After a few moments Minato clawed his nails through his scalp and let out a frustrated groan.

"so… Natsu was it?" the woman nodded sharply and took a few steps towards him worriedly. "What now?" Natsu's head tilted quizzically and she let out a low hum.

"I say… we should return to your dwelling Ashikabi-sama, I've seen a few Sekirei battles below us since I brought you up here, and the ones that attacked us may still be around."

"_The ones who attacked us?" _he would definitely grill her for more information once they made it back to his apartment. With another heavy sigh he made his way to peer down over the edge of the skyscraper.

"So how do we get down? Looks like there's a pad lock on the roof access door." He was about to ask how he had gotten up here in the first place, when the battered woman before him latched her arms around his waist from his right. "what are you- AGHH!"

The city scape below him blurred as they rocketed through the air. Wind rushed past him, making his eyes water and disheveling his clothes and hair. This felt like ten times the G force than what he had experienced at any amusement park, and if it wasn't for the fact that all his organs felt like they were being crammed into his throat he would have noticed one of his shoes and a sock rip away from him to fall to the ground below.

" -UT ME-E DOWNNNNN!" the rushing wind prevented Minato from hearing or seeing his servants response to his scream for help, and with no other alternative available he thrashed and tried to pry himself from her grip. Just like in the darkness.

Then it stopped, and the arms on him went slack. He immediately clambered to solid ground and tried to steady himself while the blurry world around him spun. His stomach felt like it was on fire, its contents churned and he gagged onto the pavement. He hadn't eaten that much today so there wasn't much else but water to throw up. The combined strain of wind and debris and his retching made his eyes red and irritated, and small tears streamed down his face.

"Ashikabi-sama are you ok?!" he felt the soft hands of this hanger-on grip his arms. This was going to be tough to adjust to.

"Never… ever…. Do that again! Do you hear me?" Natsu's grip loosened, and her eyes caste to the ground.

"Yes Ashikabi-sama…" she said quietly as she tried to help Minato to his feet. He was extremely dizzy and still quite nauseous, but now he noticed the few people still out in the street staring at them.

"What, you've never seen someone lose their lunch before?" Minato flipped the gawking pedestrians off as he made his way to the sidewalk accompanied by Natsu. They weren't anywhere near his apartment, but he knew where they were, and how to get home. "and what the hell happened to my shoe?" Natsu looked away, not wanting to admit she had caused him to lose one of his possessions.

They walked in silence for at least a half hour, once in a while he'd hear the woman behind him sniffle or seethe from the cold of the night. He really hoped she wasn't a whiner. Then he got to thinking, what was he supposed to do now? He couldn't be part of some alien bloodbath, he had a life of his own to worry about, and what was he supposed to do with Natsu to begin with; his apartment was a spacious single sure, and the salary he earned was enough for him to live off of comfortably, but what would the costs be to take care of an alien woman? Did she have allergies? Could she even eat human food at all? Did she sleep? She couldn't get a job as it may interfere with this "game" or vice versa. It was always his philosophy that one shouldn't be distracted from their main objective by lesser priorities. Of course he hadn't held up very well to his own beliefs, but he'd never admit it out loud.

"Ashikabi-sa-" Natsu began but was cut off.

"Don't call me that, it sounds weird. My name is Minato… and uh.. nice to meet you…" Minato replied as he absent-mindedly looked at some of the stars while continuing down the sidewalk.

"Oh, um yes Ashi-… I mean, yes Minato-sama!" Some of the cheer had come back to her voice. That was a relief, he may not be happy with the situation, but if they were forced together they may as well not hate each other.

"Mi~na~to-sama" she faintly whispered to herself as she smiled. She liked her master's name, and he seemed to be kind, if a little irritable. Minato cocked an eyebrow; she was an odd one for sure. He took note of the street they were on, just around the block and they'd be at his place.

"So you had something to say?"

"Oh yes! I'm so sorry Minato-sama!" The young Ashikabi froze as the extraterrestrial female skipped in front of him to cup his face and learn towards him.

"what do you think you're-"

"That cut on your head looks bad Minato-sama, I'm sorry but you were hurt when we were attacked today. Can you forgive me?" her eyes were so full of guilt and sadness, it was pathetic. To be honest Minato had forgotten completely about the head wound, and probably wouldn't have noticed it again until he took a shower.

"Um… yes, thank you for the concern, I'm ok really" Natsu smiled at him as relief swept across her face, which was replied with an awkward smile of his own in turn. "Look I can see my apartment from here, let's just duck inside and you can explain everything."

* * *

Rarely did he feel embarrassed, but when others were able to see and judge his living space he became livid. It was the most intimate area of one's life, and its state reflected a person's habits and behavior. Over the last week and a half he had been misplacing keys and important documents often, and would end up tearing apart his laundry and desk in an attempt to find the missing items. Because of this his apartment was a mess; dirty laundry was scattered about the floor from the mud room to the bedroom, a stack of filthy dishes filled the sink and loose papers cluttered the floor in his living room.

Sure having an attractive woman see the pigsty he lived in upset him, but he would get over it, she'd be living here so she'd see its true beauty once he got around to pulling his life back together. What really upset him was that whoever had been sent to deliver the "beginners pack" had jimmied the door open and left the boxes in the middle of his living room.

In a frustrated frenzy Minato rushed around from room to room trying to clear as much space as he could before his guest saw anything. Most of the clothes were back in the laundry room, but there was still a lot of mess. Despite this Natsu remained adamant that she loved her new home, and she meant it, how could she not love his apartment, he had been gracious enough to invite her in and allow her to stay after all. However, nothing she could say would calm Minato in his enraged state of cleaning, and he only stopped after he had a few loads of laundry prepared for the washer, and all his papers had been piled up on his desk. He would have to sort them at a later date.

As he rushed to the bathroom to grab a few items to treat himself and his Sekirei he noticed the position of the hands on his wall clock. It hadn't even occurred to him to check the time. This whole ordeal had taken up more than two thirds of the day! It baffled him how he had only been conscious for less than an hour of it.

Of course now came the tedious "tell me everything you know" part of it all. Minato returned to his living room to find Natsu sitting on his leather sofa taking in his decor, he may not have been creative, but he had tried to personalize it. He came in with a wet cloth, peroxide and bandages. He'd worry about the cut on his head later.

Her eyes shot back to him, it was a little creepy how eagerly she diverted her attention to him, but it could have just been out of concern for the cut on his head. He kneeled in front of her and removed her boots, he told her when they entered to take her boots off but she must not have listened. A light blush crept up her cheeks as he examined the cuts, bruises and dried blood on her skin. "Is it ok for me to touch you?" That did it. Natsu's face flushed a dark red and she stuttered out her answer.

"Y-yes Ashikabi-sama c-c-can do as he li-likes!" He couldn't help but chuckle, it was just a precaution, didn't want to surprise her by just grabbing her legs.

Her blush deepened when he gripped her ankle and started running the cloth gently across her wounds. It was mostly her stomach and arms that had been affected, which would probably make her pass out from embarrassment. It was time to get down to business though.

"So, what happened earlier today? I was running, and I think I heard something. Then I wake up in the middle of the street covered in blood." He was mildly surprised; most of the bloody marks on her skin were just that, dried blood. Most of her injuries had already healed over and were just faint scars. It made sense though, if she could jump off tall buildings without splattering on the pavement than she could bounce back from cuts and scrapes in no time. The same didn't seem to be true for the gash across her stomach though.

"I was looking for you actually Minato-sama, I didn't know who you were, or even what you looked like, but I could feel you somewhere close by!"

"You could "feel" me?" The game was as strange a concept as aliens themselves, but the intricate details of everything were no doubt fascinating. Having cleaned all the blood off her right leg he continued to the left, causing his guest to bite her lip and avert her eyes.

"Y-you see, only a small percentage of humans are compatible with Sekirei DNA, and although any compatible human can wing us, we only react to a few out of every hundred. The ones we have a reaction to can be our destined one." There were a lot of terms being thrown around that Minato didn't really understand in this context, he'd have to make a list for future reference.

"Let's get the basics down first. Explain what you mean by humans "winging" you, and what it means to react." It was a simple request, at least as far as he was concerned. If he had to be in this than he might as well know what he was talking about.

"Ok Minato-sama!" he couldn't get over how bright her smile was whenever she talked to him, he wasn't a bad or unpleasant person, but he knew he didn't exactly radiate cheer and goodwill. "When an Ashikabi, that is, a compatible human, exchanges genetic information with us via our mucous membranes we become bound to that individual. Winged in other words. We're so attached to our Ashikabi that our proximity to them greatly affects our mood and behavior, and if they die than we even experience a kind of brain death." The way she nonchalantly spoke of being chained to another being was astounding to say the least.

"_wonderful, now I have to watch my health…"_

"In the beginning we look for that one Ashikabi we think will be best for us, we know when we've found someone to be our destined one when we have a physiological reaction. Our thoughts become hazy, body temperature and heart rate increases drastically, and we feel disoriented and drawn to the person to be winged." While Natsu continued her explanation Minato moved the cloth higher, and was awarded with a flinch as he cleaned the blood away from the slice on her stomach. Her hands clasped together over her chest and she smiled affectionately at Minato, the thing that put him off was the dreamy look she gave him "That's how I knew it was you Minato-sama, when I saw you, my heart wouldn't stop and I couldn't breathe." The flush on her cheeks was genuine now, this was getting way too intense.

"And those tattoos you have, what do they mean?" He had to focus on what he was doing; things were getting a little too heavy for him. Minato kept his gaze low as he applied some peroxide to the cloth to disinfect Natsu's stomach wound.

"um.. ah… well the number seventy-two is my own personal Sekirei number, it means I am number seventy-two out of one-hundred and eight."

"one-hundred and eight?... was your ship running a skeleton crew or what?" His reaction was entirely based on mainstream sci/fi movies about alien hordes invading Earth, so maybe he should have given them some slack. Once again Natsu's super human metabolism showed, as the gash on her abdomen was already starting to heal around the edges.

"I'm afraid I don't know anything about that Minato-sama, I'm sorry… However I can tell you that MBI has been taking care of the ship, at least that's what some of my adjustors have told me." That could be good or bad. What did they have planned? And why would they just give away an alien spaceship?

"And what about the one on your neck?" Minaka had shown it to him as if it was something he should recognize. You'd think it would be easier to just give him a pamphlet with a glossary of need-to-know information rather than call him to present a speech.

"That's the greatest honour of all Minato-sama; it is the crest a Sekirei gains when they are winged. It is Minato-sama's mark, proving to all who see it that I belong to you." Once again, totally nonchalant about essentially being a slave.

"Actually..." she fidgeted on the sofa as he wound a wrapping around her flat stomach. "I was almost terminated today... " he paused, but only for a moment before continuing his treatment. Her blush was gone, as was the puppy dog eyes. She just looked distant and

"and... what does that mean?" He didn't know why he was asking, "terminated" was pretty loud and clear.

"Well, I was in the middle of a Sekirei battle myself when you came running through the crowd. The other Sekirei was already winged, and her master wanted me as well, but I wasn't reacting to him. So he was going to force himself on me. If it hadn't been for you running past, I'd probably be in a bad situation right now..." her eyes grew distant for a moment before gazing into his deeply "Thank you for being in the wrong place at the right time." She cringed a little as he finished wrapping her bandages. She was thankful that her Ashikabi was kind enough to take care of her, despite the fact she should have been the one nursing him back to health. "The other Sekirei tried to use her finishing move, but just ended up knocking me into you Minato-sama. I was so scared I'd hurt you, I've always had bad luck and it would just be like me to find my Ashikabi and accidentally kill him." the pout she put on was cute, at least she wasn't insufferable like most women he met.

"But clearly I wasn't dead... I was vaguely aware of what was happening while I was out... I heard you, pleading for me to be ok... then there was this... this light and heat before I woke up again... what was that?"

"What you experienced was the exchange of DNA an Ashikabi and Sekirei make when they kiss, I would explain it, a demonstration would be much more informative..." He didn't believe that for a second, her cheeks were flushed again and she was playing with the hem of her sash. But then again any excuse to kiss a pretty girl was as good as the next, so he went along with it.

"Sure, I guess, show me." Natsu was surprised actually, she didn't think she'd get a chance to kiss Minato again so quickly and quite frankly didn't think that would work. Admittedly, she had gone overboard the first time, but there was no helping it, the power and ecstasy that flowed through her in that moment were difficult to resist. Now Minato was sitting next to her on the sofa, it had been easy the first time, mostly because he was unconscious, but now that he was going to be an active participant she felt very self-conscious.

"M-Minato-sama, pl-lease be still for just a moment... while I..." with a nod from her Ashikabi she cupped his face, her blush was growing ever brighter and he could feel her hands trembling as she drew closer.

"Be with me Minato-sama, now and forever..." their lips connected, and both of their worlds went blank. Natsu's eyes clenched shut as Oxytocin and Dopamine surged through her veins and her metabolism worked overtime to heal her remaining injuries.

Natsu moaned loudly and pressed her tongue against Minato's lips, he didn't accept her invitation of course. It was too soon for that. Yet she remained adamant, and continued her gentle pushing as her soft lips covered his. Through the heat of the moment Minato could see the wings of light that erupted from her back, or rather, the wings were all he could see. They were the brightest thing he'd ever seen, and his eyes strained to stay opened. At the same time however, they had a definite shape, as if they were something physical that he could reach out and touch.

_"I think I can take one for the team if this is how it works." _Resisting the sensation long enough to put together coherent thoughts was difficult, between the moans and mewling that escaped Natsu's mouth and her soft lips and probing tongue it was damn near impossible to think of anything other than the male urges that he had suppressed in favour of his career for so many months. But this had gone on long enough, and despite Natsu's insistence to hold him in place he managed to pull himself free. The young couple both took deep breaths, with the Sekirei's being much more ragged. Her skin was flushed crimson all over, and she rested her head on his shoulder as her hands bawled up and rest on his chest.

"I-I love you Master.." Minato's eyes grew wide, no one had said that to him in a long time, even his family. Forget the space laser, or MBI or even that aliens existed, THAT was the strangest thing he had heard yet. How could what was essentially a total stranger just admit to loving him when not even the mother and sister he had lived with his whole life ever said they did.

"... yeah.. Thank you..." It was all he could come up with, but seemed to be enough for Natsu as she nuzzled into his neck and inhaled his scent before letting out the most heavenly sounding sigh. "You ok?" they pulled away for a moment, Natsu's eyes looked heavy. He could tell she was tired.

"... uhh... yes Ashi- yes Minato-sama." She wasn't fooling anyone. Especially him.

"Listen, stay here for a minute, get comfy. I'm going to go get a blanket and pillow for you. Ok?" She tried in vein to keep him seated, and soon found herself alone. She couldn't help but sigh in disapproval; her Ashikabi was not only handsome and completely irresistible but also playing hard to get. This would definitely be frustrating.

* * *

Getting out of the room for a moment was a relief, it wasn't that he wasn't enjoying being with Natsu, on the contrary, that was the problem. He didn't want to be getting into anything too intense after just meeting her. It felt good to have someone to show affection towards him for once, it was something he could definitely get used to.

All this funny business had been getting to him though; first the haunting nightmares, then his faltering work performance, then suddenly the existence of aliens and some secret operation under the most wealthy and influential corporate entity on Earth is revealed to him. Plus the fact that he now had a second mouth to feed. He sure as hell hoped MBI was prepared to mitigate some of his living expenses at least. When the stressed young male returned to his new housemate he cocked an eyebrow. He found her rolled up asleep on his couch, clutching one of his dirty shirts to her chest. How she had gotten it he had no idea, Minato thought he had picked up all the clothes and would have heard her go by if she had sneaked into the laundry room. Or at least he thought he would have.

He had to be honest, her sudden attachment to him was a little creepy, but it was also a little endearing. Minato couldn't remember the last time someone needed him like that, nor could he remember the last time anyone other than his sister had come to visit him on personal matters. With that in mind, Minato couldn't help but crack a smile as he gently laid the blanket over her and tucked a pillow under her drowsy head.

The newly christened Ashikabi gave a glance to the pile of boxes in the center of the room, and proceeded to take a peek inside. Two boxes had been left in the middle of the chaos that was his apartment; one large and one roughly the size of a shoe box. The biggest box was all spare outfits and necessities for Natsu including towels, clothes for different scenarios such as casual, exercise, formal and nightwear, as well as her own set of hygiene products. At least he wouldn't have to buy her much.

"What the hell is this?..." underneath the plastic wrapped packets of clothes was a rolled up Kevlar bag. Undoing the bindings and unrolling it revealed that the inside was lined with daggers, in all there must have been fifty or more all latched onto the inner surface of the Kevlar sheet. _"So this is what you do... you're a knife fighter?..." _the blades felt heavy towards the handle, and on closer inspection had been sharpened down to a fine edge. There was no doubt in his mind that he could shave with one of these, if he were so inclined. _"Must be what those pouches on her arms are for" _It was hard to believe this pretty, if a bit overly attached girl could have the will to cause serious bodily harm to another person. Minato was by no means naive, it wouldn't be like wrestling or those other fake sports. You don't use real weapons for a fake fight, and judging by the amount of dirt and blood that covered his sleeping guest things were bound to get messy.

Then his eyes were drawn to the much smaller box. It was labeled "Ashikabi - N00b Package" gamer slang, wonderful. The contents of the box was mostly pamphlets and folded papers. Skimming the papers concluded one thing, they were mostly about Natsu; likes, dislikes, notes about her personality and stage by stage development chart. One page was about her powers. He already knew she was strong, she did after all throw a three hundred pound piece of scrap at whoever was attacking her AFTER being hit with the vehicle said scrap was from, and she was quite obviously agile if she was able to catch up with him at the road block and propel herself off buildings as fast as she did.

The sheet categorized her powers as "Kinetic Projection - Via physical extensions". A note beside it read "In Layman's terms : weapons type, Knife specialization". _"well no duh..." _He'd have to read more on all of this later, it was getting late and he would need to be to work early tomorrow to try to set things right. Something caught his eye as he was about to set the cover back on the box. Something that poked out from under neath the pile of papers. It was metal gleaming under the light. At the bottom of the box was two things. The first was a one of the Omni-Phones. It was a new model, one that wasn't even out yet, accompanied by a note taped to it apologizing for not being able to repair his phone which he had just discarded, and stating that the new phone shared his old number. That wasn't what drew his attention however, beside it was a chrome hand-gun with a small handle and small barrel, if he remembered correctly it was called a "snub-nose" Alongside it was three circular bands of six bullets each. On the black grip of the revolver was the letters "MBI - VIP" with a white stripe along either side connecting to the reverse side which displayed the same engravement.

"Why am I being armed?... I thought it was just them fighting?... I thought they weren't allowed to hurt me... " This was just great, how could he be expected to shoot at someone, maybe even kill someone! He wasn't a soldier, or a thug, or even any kind of a bruiser. Sure he could hold his own in a fist fight but why give him a gun? What situations did Minaka think he would be in that he'd need to potentially take someones life?

"Ashikabi.. sama..." In his confusion Minato had forgotten his sleeping partner, she was still asleep thankfully, and it seemed she was just having a dream. She looked content enough, he had to wonder though, why did they want to fight? What did they stand to gain from this "game"? Looking at his sekirei was having an affect on him, and he couldn't help but take a few quiet steps towards her and brushing the hair from her face. The same hormones that made her feel "love" towards her Ashikabi must also have been affecting him to some extent.

"Goodnight Natsu... Enjoy the peace you have, while you can..." He'd let her sleep in when he woke up for work, and leave her some food during the day. After all, she did save his life, and rest and a good meal was the least he could do after that. The box of papers and his new phone could wait until his lunch break. Everything could. For now his life was back to normal, or at least as normal as it was ever going to be.

* * *

**END**

Minato's strapped in and about to embark on a roller coaster that will never let him go.

Also, still looking for betas.

As always, please review, subscribe and fave :) Comments and/or suggestions are always welcome (and greatly encouraged).


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